Chicken Alaska & Top of the World Highway August 4& on, 2009 T he beginning of the Taylor Highway, aka The Top of the World Highway, is paved but was reminiscent of the Dalton with sections of gravel, steep drop offs, winding road and with hairpin turns. It soon turned to all gravel, and became narrow in some sections. Visibility continued to decline from wildfire smoke as we worked our way southeasterly crossing the border back into Canada. This is supposed to be one of the most spectacular scenic drives in North America but the smoke limited our visibility for most of the way into Dawson City. We stopped in the old mining town of Chicken Alaska and saw one of the Hugh dredge machines used to extract gold from the earth. The destruction these machines did to the environment was astounding to me. The machines would devourer the earth in front of it in a sweeping side to side motion and spit out sterile piles of rock behind it. The campgrounds in Chicken didn’t look very appealing to us so we traveled on to a Bureau of Land Management campground a few miles further. We found a campground that was extremely clean and well designed. The sites were spacious, level and on a very nice looking river. The 90 year old campground host, who have been there for seven years take great pride in keeping this place clean and well supplied with free firewood. When I asked our campground host why he keeps coming back year after year to this remote campground, he replied, “I like to fish, and the caribou come through here so I can put one in the freezer every fall, then I move down to Arizona and sometimes into Mexico to camp for the winter.” Annette and I hope we will have the same spirit when we reach that age. After crossing the border back into Canada and the Yukon River on a ferry boat, we knew we were on our way home and it was a little disappointing as we had a wonderful adventure in Alaska and could have stayed longer. We would be traveling much of the same route thru Canada as we did coming north, so there won’t be much new to report for awhile.

8/9/2009 Delta Junction, AK Fairbanks & Delta Junction, AK August 2&3, 2009 We arrived back in Fairbanks after an eleven hour drive mostly on dirt and gravel road of the Dalton with plans to resupply for another few days of remote adventure along the Taylor Highway through the historic mining town of Chicken and onto the Top of the World Highway into Dawson City on the Yukon River, then onto the Klondike Highway to Whitehorse YT. Another roadway similar to the Dalton in that most of it is gravel and very remote. We were fortunate to be able to again visit with our friend Dave before leaving Fairbanks. We spent the Moring together and he introduced us to Rod another friend of his who crafts and sells native Alaskan art. It was a thrill to see his work and quite an education into a little bit of the native culture of Alaska. The drive from Fairbanks into Delta Junction where we made camp was a beautiful drive following along the banks of the Tanana River with more wonderful sights of wild Alaska.

8/6/2009 The Haul Road North of the Arctic Circle Dalton Highway July 31-August 1, 2009 Annette and I couldn’t resist the allure of driving up the Haul Road, the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse, 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle. I have heard horror stories of driving this road which is the only supply road for the North Slope Oil fields and the beginning of the Alaskan Pipeline. Broken windshields and flat tires are common place. The Bureau of Land Management recommends that you have at LEAST two full size spare tires mounted on rims, and a CB radio for communication. We had planned ahead and were prepared. There is no cell phone coverage or medical service outside of Fairbanks and Deadhorse, and very limited fuel service. It’s more than 500 miles one way from Fairbanks. The big trucks have the right on this road! It’s mostly gravel and dirt road with intermittent sections of pavement or chip seal; in some places they coat the road with calcium chloride to keep the road dust down. The road consists of potholes, frost heaves, washboard, and long gravel sections that have sharp rocks, steep grades to 12%, slick mud, snow and ice even in summer, and slippery soft sections are common. It follows the Alaska Pipeline and has several pump stations and DOT maintenance work camps along the way. Flash floods and wildfires occur frequently. This is the wilderness! And very remote! As we crossed the Brooks Mountain Range and Antigun Pass, we left the smoke that had limited our visibility to less than a quarter mile in some areas for much of the way. There was a knot in my stomach and the pain in my chest increased as we traveled north. I worried that this road is going to tear our truck apart! But the scenery was well worth the effort. To the west we could see Gates of The Arctic National Park and Preserve, to the east we looked at Yukon Flats and Arctic National Wildlife Refuges. Annette and I drove 399 miles in 12 hours the first day where we camped along the road on a creek, about 120 miles north of the Arctic Circle. We were alone and the feeling of being in the wild was fantastic. We were camped in the tundra of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge alone with a gazillion mosquitoes! The next day started very early as we looked ahead to more excitement. Besides this far north we had daylight most of the time. We headed on to Deadhorse as we had made reservations to join a tour that would take us past the security check point for the oil fields and all the way to the Arctic Ocean, our destination! The tour was a not what we expected and at $40 each for a short ride to the ocean…but it was something we had to do to see the Arctic Ocean. The return trip went much faster, I guess after having traveled the road I knew what to expect and learned how to drive it. Instead of driving 30 miles an hour on the way up I was able to drive 45-50 mph on the way down. The post holes and washboard road just didn’t seem as big or as bad. Round trip from our campground in Fairbanks we traveled 1035 miles on this wonderful side trip. We are already talking about plans to make this again.

My wife Annette is a much better writer than I am. And her email to friends and family describes our few days that we spent to Prudhoe Bay perfectly so I have included it below. I think you’ll like it. -------------------------------------------------Annette’s Letter Hi All, We drove the infamous Dalton Hwy. (aka Haul Road) the full 987 miles up and back from Fairbanks!!! It was an adventure and we're glad we did! We traveled thru fabled gold rush mining towns and followed the path of the trans Alaska pipeline, experienced the often treacherous but also beautiful route of the Haul Rd. that carried people, supplies and dreams to develop the gold claims and later the oil fields or black gold of the Northern Slope of Alaska. Although we may have differences of opinions about the use and development of fossil fuels in the wild lands of the northern most frontier, the road did provide us an opportunity to see and feel things we may have never even imagined. Our trip north on Friday was started late and cursed with smokey haze from forest fires in other parts of the state but we decided, bad viz, bad roads and late starts be damned, we're going!!! We passed up Yukon Camp at first hoping for fuel further up at the Hot Spot Cafe and had to turn around and go back to the Yukon because the cafe didn't have any fuel!! The 'camps' are former construction camps for the pipeline that have been converted to 'rest stops' with various primitive levels of services. Example: There may or may not be a fuel pump visible, sometimes it may only be a barrel with an electric pump that the proprietor has to start for you, most have food but probably can only offer a 'public' outhouse!! RV camping consists of a corner of a dirt parking area and reindeer sausage may be on the menu!! It's unique! We stopped at Cold Foot on the way up and back as it is sort of a half way point. Needless to say that it got its name honestly, after about 6-7 hours on the 'haul', many get cold feet and turn around!!! We were considering it!! But didn't!

Then on to the Arctic Circle, 66 degrees N latitude and really a quite pretty spot, with a BLM parking area, picnic tables and a camping area, complete with bear proof waste cans and 'out houses'. We created our own tradition for crossing this global landmark, much as we have with crossing the equator and the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. We jumped out the truck, ran around it two times, jumped in the camper, and toasted with some bubbly, ate lunch and got back on the road.

Once we topped Antigun Pass (Continental Divide) and the Brooks Range Mtns., we were in the Arctic tundra, a land without trees, rolling green punctuated with silverery still ponds, occasional swans or ducks, small fleeting warblers or sparrows and vegetation that was no more than knee high and oh! did I mention the mosquitoes? Mogley (our dog) and I went for a short and quick trip out on to the tundra and it was like stepping on pillows with holes and huge clouds of dark, biting feathers erupting from the green!!! NEEDLESS TO SAY, WE RETREATED QUICKLY TO THE CAMPER!!!!!!!!!! FACT: A caribou can loose up to a pint of blood a day to mosquitoes!!

We camped that night just south of Deadhorse, Prudhoe Bay at a small creek next to the road, as there are very few 'designated ' camping areas and no RV parks within a 500 mile area! But there were many streams and pull outs that are very inviting. On our way to Deadhorse the next day we were looking for grizzly, caribou Dall sheep and the illusive musk oxen we had heard so much about and were finally rewarded with our first ever in a life time sighting of the wild and free ranging musk oxen of Alaska, a herd of about 14!!!!!!!

We did the tourist thing in DH and paid the 40 bucks to board a small bus and have a BP employee regale us with how wonderful and safe and clean they were. But it was the only alternative to get thru security check points to get to the Ocean. We had a half hour to skip stone, watch water fowl or dip our toes in the icy waters of the northern most sea!!! We did not but ventured our fingers, collected some drift wood, rocks and sand and ventured back to the bus and down the road to our previous night’s camp. DH is not your destination resort for a fun vacation!! It is a work camp, looks like a surplus vehicle and parts yard and houses about 3000 workers at any one time who rotate with other workers after their two week shifts and live in 'modern' day bunk houses while they are here. Each oil company of the Alyeska consortium, who own the pipeline are represented here and each of the three have their own crews, their own drill sites and their own housing. It is very different than any arrangement I have seen in TX or CA or FL. They have a combination company store, auto parts store, post office, etc. but don't expect your favorite beer, wine or cocktail, they don't sell alcohol or fire arms in DH, and don't allow it in the work camps. Probably a good thing in this testosterone rich environment!!

Our return trip was blessed with good viz, few clouds, fresh rain rinsed tundra and for the most part, very courteous drivers. We saw 16 Muskox and 6 caribou. Although the other animals alluded us, the scenery of the tundra and the Brooks Range Mountains and the small streams, rivers, rock formations and color were fascinating and made the return trip a 'piece of cake'. We would do it again, but take more time to explore the side roads, as well.

We are back in Fairbanks only long enough to wash the camper, get some groceries and head on toward Chicken, look for it on Google Earth and follow the other adventures on the blog.

Fairbanks, Alaska July 29-30, 2009 One of the highlights of this trip and certainly of Fairbanks for me was seeing a good friend of mine that I went to middle and high school with. He and his family have had close ties with me for most of my life. David’s grandfather treated me like his son, and his mother Barbara was my elementary school bus driver. David lives in Fairbanks and it was a real rewarding experience to see him and to spend some time with him after almost 40 years. Found memories of our youth and the times we spent together are now plentiful. He enlightened us about what it’s really like to live and work here. He was most generous with his time and his resources. I look forward to spending more time together, he’s one of the better people in this world that you are proud to say he is your friend. Thank you for being my friend Dave.

Denali National Park Denali National Park, Alaska July 26-29, 2009 It was a little sad leaving Talkeetna. We had made some nice friends, the RV Camping Park was super, the fishing was good and we all liked the town. But the allure of Denali was too much, it was calling us to come for a visit, and we were anxious to get there. Would it be another one of our parks in the United States that are being loved to death, over run with far too many people and more vehicles than the facilities can accommodate? Would it be a disappointment like Yosemite was, and poorly maintained? To camp inside Denali requires an advanced three day minimum reservation; which includes a reserved bus ticket for a 60 mile ride into the park’s visitor center and the only way to see Denali unless you want to hike or fly in which those who climb Mount McKinley do. We camped at three days at Teklinika which is located 30 miles from the park entrance and is the farthest campground in the park that accommodates RV’s. From here we took concession operated shuttle buses to visit the interior of the park. By restricting travel to meet certain management parameters and objectives, this destination park is made accessible to the masses of park visitors that seek the grandeur of this park. Although this is Grizzly bear country, behind our campground is a river corridor where a pack of wolves is actively hunting. John and Annette saw a caribou racing along the gravel bar being chased by wolves and Annette also found fresh tracks and scat on her hikes along the river. Our second day in Denali we had reservations on the bus for the 60 mile trip to the visitor center. From there we chose to switch buses for another one that went to the end of the road. We saw, an abundance of wildlife which included; 9 Grizzly bears, several Dall sheep, 3 moose, Arctic ground squirrels, Gyrfalcon, several groups of caribou, a Golden eagle, a beaver, a martin, and a couple of ptarmigan.

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As we travel our world visiting parks, meeting others in our profession and introducing them to the benefits of the Park Law Enforcement Association. We'll share adventures by way of this blog.. Please check back from time to time to see what we have been up to.. Oh, and plesae leave a comment so I know someone is enjoying these....